• Land

The UK Launches Revolutionary Carbon Sequestration Trials

• carbon footprint
• carbon sequestration
• carbon sinks
• CO2
• Forests
• greenhouse gasses
• peat
• trees

To meet the goals of the Paris agreement, experts say the world must invest in removing carbon from the atmosphere in addition to cutting emissions. But that can be a tall task as crucial carbon sinks fall victim to human activity and rising temperatures. The U.K. is facing this challenge head-on and has launched a series of carbon sequestration trials using trees, peat, rock chips, and charcoal.

Why This Matters: Carbon sinks are declining worldwide. 

• Sustainability

Tesla Stops Accepting Bitcoin Transactions Due To Environmental Impact of Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin
• blockchain
• carbon footprint
• climate change
• cryptocurrency
• Elon Musk
• energy
• Tesla

Tesla will no longer accept payments in Bitcoin because of its effects on the environment. On Wednesday the company’s CEO Elon Musk  tweeted that Tesla has concerns about the “rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining.”  He emphasized that Tesla won’t sell its $2.5 billion worth of Bitcoin.

Why this Matters:  Musk’s statement has proven controversial, as it has affected cryptocurrency markets, which have shed as much as $365.85 billion in value since his tweet.

• Sustainability

One Eco-Efficient Thing: Google Map Routes With Lowest Carbon Footprint Navigation

• carbon footprint
• fuel efficient
• Google
• maps
• navigation

We are already so dependent on Google maps it’s hard to imaging how we could need them more!  But soon they will provide even better services thanks to some work with the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab.  When you are looking at directions, the default option will be the one with the lowest […]

• Climate Change

Bitcoin’s Big Climate Footprint

• banks
• Bitcoin
• carbon footprint
• clean energy
• cryptocurrencies
• mining

CNBC Anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin, who also writes for the NY Times, was out yesterday with a thought-provoking piece about the huge amount of carbon emitted due to energy-intensive Bitcoin “mining.”  Studies show that Bitcoin’s business has a bigger carbon footprint than countries like, say, Argentina or New Zealand.  That’s not chump change when it […]

• Politics

Whoa — Growing Weed Indoors Results In High GHG Emissions

• cannabis
• carbon footprint
• high
• marijuana
• racial justice

By Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer Marijuana is now legal in 15 states and counting, and medical marijuana is now legal in 34 states. It’s big business — 2020 sales broke records, surpassing an estimated $15 billion. But new research from Colorado State University, a state that pulled in over $387 million in marijuana taxes in 2020, […]

• Energy

Texas Gas Companies are Pulling Strings in Local Green Energy Policy

• carbon footprint
• climate change
• consultants
• energy grid
• fossil fuels
• lobbyists
• oil and gas

In the wake of one of the largest power losses in United States history, the conversation about green energy in Texas is back in the headlines. Emily Holden and two other investigative reporters collaborated on a story that ran in The Guardian, The Texas Observer, and San Antonio Report exposing how the Texas Gas Service was successful in significantly watering down a plan by the city of Austin to reduce the use of natural gas there in the future. 

Why This Matters: The oil industry has spent billions to manipulate the national conversation around green energy.